Clean Air

Working forests are fundamental to reducing overall greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere.

Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air through photosynthesis and store it in the roots, stem, limbs and leaves of the tree as part of natural tree growth. This process, called carbon sequestration, occurs most rapidly in growing trees and slows down as trees age. Sequestered carbon is stored in the forest in trees, soil, and the wood debris on the forest floor and in long-lasting products made from harvested wood.

Forests in the United States, 56% of which are privately owned, [1] offset 13% of total U.S. CO2 emissions. [2]

Working forests long have been recognized as a source of real and verifiable reductions in greenhouse gases and a cost-effective source of industrial GHG offsets.

The United Nations’ 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (“IPCC”) highlights forest management as a primary tool to reduce GHG emissions. The IPCC states that, “In the long term, a sustainable forest management strategy aimed at maintaining or increasing forest stocks, while producing an annual sustained yield of timber, fiber or energy from the forest, will generate the greatest mitigation benefit.”

Similarly, the EPA has identified responsibly managed forests as one of five key “groups of strategies that could substantially reduce emissions between now and 2030.” [3]

Using the sequestration and storage capabilities of responsibly managed working forests in an industrial emissions offset marketplace can reduce the overall cost of achieving mandatory emissions reduction targets. Thus, most established GHG trading regimes credit forestry activities.

Wood removed from working forests can provide a reliable source of secure, domestic low-carbon energy, including electricity, heat and transportation fuel.

The EPA has concluded that there is “‘scientific consensus’… that the carbon dioxide emitted from burning biomass will not increase CO2 in the air if it is done on a sustainable basis.” [4] This position is supported by the IPCC, the Energy Information Administration, the World Resources Institute and other credible scientific bodies.

Wood sources of renewable transportation fuels significantly reduce GHGs. According to the U.S Department of Energy, using forest materials to make biofuels that replace gasoline can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 86% compared to gasoline. [5]

Products like building materials, furniture and other consumer goods made of wood harvested from working forests are an important means of storing carbon over long periods.

The EPA estimates that the amount of carbon stored annually in forest products in the U.S. is equivalent to removing more than 70 million tons of CO2 from the atmosphere every year. [6]

An independent study shows that wood products used in construction store more carbon and use less fossil fuels than other materials, like steel and concrete. Wood framing in a home produces 26% less net CO2 emissions than steel and 31% less than concrete. [7]

Research on private forestlands has shown that more intensively managed forests and the products they produce can provide as much as 100% more carbon mitigation benefits than less intensively managed forests. [8]

Clean Water

Forests benefit water quality.

Trees help filter sediment and nutrients from water runoff before it enters streams, lakes and other water bodies.

In the U.S., 53% of the Nation’s total water supply originates from public and private forest lands.[9]

Roughly 87% of all of the country’s fresh water supply originates from forests and agricultural lands and more than 200 million people rely on their drinking water from public and private forests and grasslands.[10]

Forested lands provide the highest quality of stream water.

Many urban areas depend on forested watersheds for drinking water.[11]

Water quality from watersheds in some cities is so high that it does not need to be filtered for drinking water.[12]

State BMPs, tailored to the specific conditions and needs within a state or region, address such things as harvesting, planting, and roads. Studies show that these widely used practices are highly effective at protecting water quality and helping maintain the U.S. as a world leader in sustainable forest management.

BMPs provide substantial protection to water quality and aquatic habitat.[14]

History of innovative best management practice development and its role in addressing water quality limited waterbodies, Journal of Environmental Engineering 130(6), 2004, and Storm runoff and sediment losses from forest clearcutting and stand re-establishment. Hydrological Processes 22(10), McBroom, Beasley, et.al. (2008).